Rambo
System: NES
Release Date: May 1988
Developer: Pack-In-Video
Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment
Genre: Action
Here we have the NES take on Rambo! I just watched First Blood II so I could be up to snuff with what was going on in game. Rambo kind of follows the events of the movie with some extra stuff thrown in for padding. Trautman, Murdock, Ericcson, and Co are all there.
Rambo comes equipped with his trusty combat knife. Unfortunately, it is a slow weapon, which sucks, as you really want it to be speedy when you’re up against the enemies of the jungle. Of course, that’s not his only weapon, Rambo has throwing knives, a bow & arrow, exploding arrows, a machine gun, and hand grenades that he can pick up and switch between with the Select Button. Really, the combat knife is the best weapon I used. When you kill bosses, you earn hearts which increase your max hit points.
The action takes place in side scrolling levels. There are a range of enemies, starting with snakes and tigers. These are relatively easy to defeat. Once you get into the caves, the bats and skulls are quite annoying and take a lot of hit points away very quickly. Then you run into killer pink flamingos which blew my mind. And of course the Vietcong, who want to kill you and keep their POWs.
Graphics: 2.0
I kind of like the graphics, but the faces in the conversation scenes are really goofy.
Sound: 1.5
I want to like the music and sounds, but I really don’t.
Gameplay: 1.5
Rambo suffers from some unresponsive gameplay and stuff that doesn’t make sense as Rambo. I should be attacking from the shadows!
Difficulty: 1.5
These enemies are taking too much damage from Rambo. They should be dying one hit from anything.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I was much more frustrated than enjoying myself.
Overall Grade: 1.5
Rambo earns a C-. It’s really not that good. There are some spots that are a start, but not enough to be enjoyable.